


Simple Twist of Fate

by innocentarrogance



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1970s, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Bisexual Sirius Black, COPD, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gay Remus Lupin, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Not Beta Read, Remus Lupin-centric, Sick Remus Lupin, Slow Burn, Songfic (Sort of), Welsh Remus Lupin, and his ma and pa, dont hate me, he gets homesick so easy too its so sweet, remus also def had long hair in the 70s and i'll fight about it, remus just thinks hes a ponce for a bit, remus loves folk music a lot, sort of not really, there are so so many personal head canons in here so haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23060374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innocentarrogance/pseuds/innocentarrogance
Summary: It’s the small things that build into something unbreakable.A story that follows Remus through his last years of school, many hidden records, a new dorm mate, and an unforeseen love.All Boys Boarding school AU - 1976Songfic (sorta)
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter (eventually), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	1. Golden Years

**Author's Note:**

> A couple things: this is my first fic in literally years so I apologize for how it might read a bit stiff (i really hope it doesnt). Also I am not native to England, nor was I alive in the 70s, so if I do get some things mixed up or wrong, again I apologize and will fix it if pointed out!  
> I look forward to writing this and hope you enjoy it!

The silence is what woke Remus, although it wasn't totally unusual for him to wake up before his alarm went off. The room was still a soft and welcoming golden orange from the sun just rising, already warming up his small, shared dorm space to a pleasant temperature. It was still summer though and it was only a matter of another hour or so before the heat climbed an uncomfortable high. He carefully turned over in his bed to the opposite of the room, attempting his best to be quiet, where he saw that his roommate was in fact not still asleep, but not there to begin with.

_‘That can’t be good,”_ Remus thought to himself before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and slowly clawed his way out of bed onto his feet. He couldn’t remember if there had ever been a time he had seen Evan out of bed before he absolutely had to wake up, and wondered if this early disappearance had something to do with his now _third_ detention he had been given yesterday afternoon in only the first week into the school year. Remus decided not to bother himself with thoughts on his distasteful roommate right now, rather enjoying being able to get ready without dealing with constant taunts and digs that get thrown at him for simply existing.

He walked into the small, white and sea foam green tiled bathroom that was big enough only for one person to be in at a time, which often ended in Remus getting thrown out the second he got out of the shower, as Evan demanded he needed it more and would quickly lock himself inside. Remus preferred not to push it and ask why, because he really didn’t think he wanted to know the answer. 

The boy splashed cold water onto his face as a fast wake-me-up and ran his wet hands through his longer, almost shoulder length, blonde curls. He was rather fond of his hair, feeling like it was the closest he could ever get to looking like the rock stars he idolized on TV at home. It took a lot of convincing his father not to make him cut it, with much help from his mother, and even more for the Headmaster to not suspend him until it was a standard length.( It helped that Headmaster Albus seemed to favour him from the rest of the boys at St. Godrics.) 

Remus didn’t believe himself to be much to look at with his slightly crooked nose and teeth, heavily freckled face that had been marked by a large scar that ran across a whole left cheek, and a far too skinny figure. So, unknowingly, it had become a sort of security blanket for him in the last year. He ignored the insults and jabs that the other boys flung at him throughout the day despite being often self-conscious and, truthfully a _tad_ overly-sensitive, because it was really the only thing he liked about himself at this extent in his life.

He trailed out of the bathroom over to his small, cherry oak wardrobe provided by the school and ran his hand across his limited collection of school clothes. Just the year before it would’ve been overflowing with sweater vests, dress trousers and white button ups but with the end of last summer came the beginning of his growth spurt. He was oddly discouraged when only a quarter of his school attire was replaced with his new, proper size, but he understood his parents just didn’t have the money to spend. At least he still had his many cardigans, that no matter how tall he gets, always seem to look like they’re consuming him whole.

  
  


Getting dressed was a thoughtless dance at this point, buttoning his shirt and tucking it into his trousers, throwing on his tie and stuffing one of said cardigans into his school bag just in case he were to get cold in class (he always does), and sliding on his polished oxfords before finally slipping out of his room without a single glance in the mirror. 

\--

To put it simply, Remus was a boy of routine and habit. Every morning he has porridge mixed with a raspberry jam that he eats with lightly buttered wheat toast. Once he finishes the bowl, he sets it aside and pulls out his homework he completed the night before to revise to the closest form of perfection he can manage at 8:30 in the morning while sipping on a cuppa. At 8:50, he puts all his belongings away back into his bag and sets off to his first class of the day - History.

History was gladly one of his favourite subjects, as it often felt like an escape from his own rather dim and tedious life, pulling him into much more exciting worlds of the past. Often learning about wars, which wasn’t a basic idea he fancied, but more just the concept of something much more wild, dangerous even, being a reality that once happened. ‘ _Still happens’_ he supposed, the combat in Vietnam only ending last year. 

Listening intently to the Professor while scribbling his notes as quickly as possible, letting out a cough here and there, he felt perfectly content and in his own world. Time flew by as always in the early part of the day and class was dismissed in what seemed like minutes to Remus. He began packing his books and notepads away, the comfort of what he considered an ‘easy class’ falling, dreading the next class. _Maths._ He sighed and walked out off the classroom and down the hallway. He always tried not to bring too much attention to himself, but he was a bit of a people-watcher against his own willpower. He found people to be rather fascinating. He'd stare at whoever caught his attention until he was forced to stop either due to them looking back, or him walking too far past. Sometimes he wondered if he ever caught peoples attention.

Once he had gotten to Professor Binns door, he gave another sigh, which turned into a cough and walked inside begrudgingly.

Remus was a wonderful and bright student, devoted most his days outside of classes to studying, revising and quizzing himself. But maths were never his strong suit, and it certainly didn’t help that his seat was next to a stirring mess of uncertainty named Peter Pettitgrew who religiously asked for Remus’ help despite constantly telling the other boy he understood just as little as he did. 

Remus should’ve been more annoyed by him honestly, but he always ended up feeling too bad for the short, scruffy boy to tell him to piss off completely, even if when he wasn’t whining over his perplexed mental state he would be practically bragging about his, _“Very popular_ _friend_ James Potter!” As if Remus didn’t know who the rugby captain of the school was! 

James Potter was just one of those boys who really, truly believed they were invincible. He barely ever studied outside of exam periods and always made excellent scores, he had girlfriends who would sneak on grounds during classes that he’d skip and somehow always talk his way out of detention once caught, he was beloved by his classmates and idolized by the underdogs (i.e. Pettigrew). Worst of all, he also had a best friend who couldn’t just be as bad, but somehow impossibly worse..

Sirius Black. The heir of the Black legacy, he would one day be the beneficiary of an ungodly amount of money and the business that made all of it. Sirius was undoubtedly handsome, a natural born aristocrat who moved in a blundering, contradictory grace. Always louder, always witty, _always_ the center of attention. He and James were a cocktail for disaster and proved it practically everyday with their immature little pranks, rattling conversations at dinner of obscene and gaudy subjects, and never to forget how they live and breathe for rugby. 

And _Peter_ who followed them around like a little dog with no backbone of his known, allowing himself to be used as a dummy and take any blame. Remus didn't like to be mean, even in his own head, but he thought if anyone were more pathetic than himself it would have to be Peter. The three of them were rather vile, but especially the two dark haired ones.

Chairs screeching from being pushed back pulled Remus from his thoughts, as students started making their way towards the exit of the classroom. He groaned softly and ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed. He hadn’t paid any mind the whole class, too distracted thinking about the those complete ponces he aims to avoid every waking moment he’s in school. He’d have to ask Frank, the closest thing to a friend Remus has, to help him study again later, hoping he won't be to grouchy about it cutting in with his phone call time with his _girlfriend_ , Alice. He quickly packed up and made his way to his next class, already wishing for the day to be over.

\--

Dinner was always something else it seemed. Remus would sit across from Frank, they would talk lightly about their day while eating their meals and sometimes Remus would tell a joke or two which always earned him a laugh from his sort-of-friend. He didn’t really consider Frank a friend due to the fact they both never talked outside of dinner and study sessions. Remus liked him well enough, sure, but they just didn’t ever seem to become anything more than acquaintances. They never talked about their personal lives and never seemed to care much to do so, they just worried about schoolwork and kept each other company during supper.

“Remus, you really are quite funny sometimes, I dunno why you're so quiet--” And just like that, like everyone was waiting for it, Frank and anyone else in mid-conversation was cut off by the famous duo making their entrance into the dining hall laughing like mad and carrying-- 

“Oh good god, are those bloody fireworks? How the hell did they even get those?” Remus asked seemingly to himself. He broke his stare on the two deviants that were taking the spotlight of the room, Peter a few feet behind them with an uneasy look on his face, then looked back at Frank. They both sighed, shrugged, and slowly crawled underneath their table wordlessly, knowing that when those boys walk in laughing like animals the only thing that's going to follow is inescapable chaos.

Remus really wondered how neither of those boys had been expelled yet as they paraded around the dining tables, aimlessly going on and on to each other,

“James, you know what this terribly dull excuse of a dining hall could use?” Sirius asked loudly, not looking at his friend who was strutting right next to him, only grinning from ear to ear making eye contact with any other boy in the room. It was a strong mix of half the boys laughing and beginning to cheer them on, and the other half deadly quiet, wishing whatever was going to happen to already be done.

“Well, I’m not so sure my friend,” James laughed out, “What did you have in mind?” 

Sirius comically let out a thoughtful hum, before snapping his fingers and turning to his friend,

“Ah! I was thinking possibly a _flare_ of some sort would really brighten this _drab_ space up--”

“ _Boys!_ ” Remus heard Professor McGonagall voice rip through the room. “If I were you two and fancied not getting a months detention, I would dispose of those _dangerous_ and _illegal_ contraptions and lower your _voices.”_

He peeked his head back above the table just to see the two boys slowly look away from the Professor, to each other, wicked smiles plastered on their faces. 

_One._

“Oh Minnie,” Sirius purred, “You know you _love us._ Well-” he reached into his pocket, giving out a bark of a laugh.

_Two._

“I know you love me the most.” Sirius flashed a devastating smirk, flicking at his lighter, bringing the flame to the strings of the fireworks James was holding.

McGonagall went to scream once again-

_Three!_

  
  


\--

When Remus finally reached the door to his room he practically spilled into it, desperately wanting nothing more than a shower and sleep, but there on his respective bed, flipping through a magazine, was Evan.

“Oh.” Remus paused in the doorway, “Um. Where were you this morning?”

“None of your business, poof.” 

The blonde grimaced at the smear, but kept his mouth shut, quietly grabbing his pajamas and making his way to the bathroom. He locked the door, a precaution related to who he lived with, and started the water. It was rare Evan did get physical with his aggression's, he stuck mostly to words as he was on a last line with the Headmaster ever since his last beating on a 4th year who was “in his way”, but Remus didn’t want to take any chances. He kept his mouth shut around the other boy and his valuables hidden.

Once out of the shower, dried off and changed he came back to the bedroom only to find Evan gone once again. He felt a strange twist in his stomach, knowing something wasn't right, but he tried to push the feeling away, deciding to use the opportunity to write home for the first time in a couple weeks. Far too long as Remus was concerned for how close he was to his parents. He sunk to the floor next to his bed and fished out his record player, his one big secret he sneaks in every year, and quickly flicked through his record carrier deciding on - Station to Station.

He smiled his first genuine smile of the day as he carefully laid the needle onto the vinyl. 

_The return of the Thin White Duke_

_Throwing darts in lovers' eyes_

_Here are we, one magical moment, such is the stuff_

_From where dreams are woven_

_Bending sound, dredging the ocean, lost in my circle_

_Here am I, flashing no color_

_Tall in this room overlooking the ocean_

_Here are we, one magical movement from Kether to Malkuth_

_There are you, you drive like a demon from station to station_

_The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers' eyes_

_The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers' eyes_

_The return of the Thin White Duke, making sure white stays_

The record had been an early birthday present from his mother previously in the year, right after the album was released. Most of his records were actually gifts from one of his parents, only a few he bought himself seeming he didn’t really have much pocket money other than the small allowance his parents could afford to give him. He pulled out his stationary set as he hummed along to the song, laying out his favourite paper and pen, turning the music down to a low murmur and began writing-

_‘Dear Ma and Pa,_

_I’ve only been back for a week but it already feels like ages. I really do wish I was back at home, dancing in the kitchen with you both to that bad contemporary music Pa likes. School is fine, it’s always only fine which is why I guess I miss you both so much. Home always seems more exciting than this place._

_No new friends, since I know you’ll be asking. Maybe later in the year, we’ll see. Cough hasn’t gotten worse either._

_Please give me a call sometime during free period, I’ll wait in the front office. I really do miss you both. I don’t care if I’m acting like a little kid._

_Love-_

_Remus_

_P.S. You know those boys I tell you about? They got fireworks somehow- they ended up being duds, so nothing got burnt down thankfully but they have weeks of detentions now though. Just thought you'd find that funny.’_


	2. It'll Take A Long Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad to have gotten a new chapter up already so soon! I'm much happier with this one and I feel like it reads a lot smoother than the last!  
> I also wanted to say that Hope is a big ol' hippie and that Remus and her are especially close to each other. Lyall and Remus are certainly close as well, but in different ways that will be explored later. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

_ Oh it's like a storm at sea _

_ And everything is lost, _

_ And the fretful sailors calling out their woes, _

_ As to the waves they're tossed. _

_ Oh they are all gentlemen, _

_ And never will they know _

_ If there is a reason each of them must go, _

_ To join the cruel flow. _

_ And it'll take a long, long time. _

_ It'll take a long, long time. _

_ It'll take a long, long time. _

_ Oh it'll take such a long, long time. _

  
  


Remus was curled up in bed, eyes resting as he listened to the soft and gentle crooning of Sandy Denny. I loved this record especially as it brought him back to when he was 12 years old, just about to start his second year at St. Godric’s, terribly anxious that the school year would be just as horrible and lonely as the one before. Every night, he and his mother would go to their small but sweet back garden and she would play the album just loudly enough to hear outside, humoring the pre-teen with stories of her times in the sixties and the wild nights she had running around England with him on her hip, free as a bird.

His favourite story being the one when Hope was in London in 1969 to see The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park just a couple days after the passing of Brian Jones. She had left Remus to stay with his grandmother, telling her in her hippie-daze that the death of Jones was a life-altering event and she was expected to pay tribute by being there. Nothing spectacular necessarily happened, she didn’t meet Mick Jagger, she wasn’t front row pressing against the stage, but just the way she describes the exact moment all the little, white butterflies were released into the audience always captivated him.

_ ‘Mick yelled out to the crowd to shut up so he could pay his tribute to Brian the only way I suppose he could think of: a poem by Shelley and a brilliant cover of a Johnny Winter song. It wasn’t so much what the band did though, it was the crowd in that moment. I felt like I was out of my body, watching over myself and the people surrounding me… The butterflies dropped onto our heads as we all danced and cried, like we couldn’t believe our idols were mortal just like us. It was really beautiful, Remmy. It was just lovely while also so heart wrenching.’ _

Remus smiled to himself, unable to imagine himself in such a world of change and revolution that made his mother into the woman she is now. Letting out a content sigh, he reached over and removed the needle from the disk and carefully placed it back into its respective cover, neatly storing all evidence of such back underneath his bed. He certainly enjoyed the rock music he was raised on, but he would always favour the delicate folk music that seemed to bond him to Hope the most.

Bringing himself back to reality by looking at the time, he stood up to readjust himself and headed out from his dorm once again, free period almost over and soon time for lunch. Remus really was much of a daydreamer, imagining often what it would be like to maybe be an artist, or a writer, or maybe even to meet one of his favourite singers. But he often had to bring himself back from his thoughts with the harsh truth that was simply:  _ “Things like that don’t happen to people like me.” _

Lunch proved to be a rather pleasant hour, with James and Sirius nowhere to be spotted, likely spending their meals in the Headmaster’s office writing lines. Remus read his freetime books as a small treat for himself, having to remember to take small bites of his sandwich and sip on his tea before it got too cold, engrossed into E.M. Forster’s words and creation. The school day would be over soon enough and if he was lucky, Evan would continue with his disappearance act and maybe he would even be able to listen to another album before strapping down to study for the night.

Evan Rosier had been Remus’ roommate for his entire stay at St. Godric’s and has never been the most  _ agreeable  _ boy to be bunked with. He was crude and often too coarse with Remus since day one, having no problem sharing his problems about the blonde and how he didn’t like ‘stupid hippies’. Remus wasn’t sure exactly where the hippie term applied to him, other than possibly his long hair, but shrugged it off the best he could knowing it was better to accept it rather than retaliate and risk getting a beat down.

He didn’t know what was wrong with his roommate that made him so angry, but he also had no intention of ever getting close enough to talk to him either. They kept things as simple and direct as possible, a nod to show that they realized the other existed, if Evan was in a good mood, and awkward silence that wouldn’t end until they both fell asleep. Remus just knew that the other did not like him and he had no reason to try and get him to, particularly after the last time Evan had decided to take some of his anger out on Remus physically. Nothing too extreme, more just the fact that the blonde had a hard time breathing as is and pushing him around didn’t help much with that fact.

“You look sad.”

Remus jumped out of his thoughts once again and turned to the source of the voice right behind him. Peter Pettigrew. He held back an annoyed sigh, hating being interrupted even if it was just his thoughts,

“I’m not.” He closed his book and shoved it back into his bag, “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

Peter sat down next to him and immediately began chewing on his thumb nail, that nervous look from dinner last night finding its way to his face again. Remus gave him a look of indifference, uncertain why the boy had a sudden interest in asking about his feelings.

“Nothing important. I should be going actually, class starts soon and all.”

Remus stood quickly, not in much mood to really start any form of conversation with the boy, but the look on his face made him pause. He looked… Disappointed? Remus cursed himself mentally for being unable to say no to people, and pretended to check the clock above the entrance door. Sitting back down he looked at Peter and gave a small smile,

“Must’ve misread that, got another ten minutes don’t we?” And the other boy lit up like a beam of sunshine.  _ ‘Dear lord. Is a little attention all it takes for him?’  _

“Well, I’ve come over sort’ve thinking, well-- Uh.  _ Wondering, _ If maybe you would be able to help me study tonight?” Peter mumbled quickly, eyes stuck to his hands as he twiddled his thumbs around like a child, “I know you say you’re not much good at Maths either, but I swear it that you’ve gotta be better than I am. My scores are really plummeting and my mum really isn’t having it. Any help would be good-- only if of course, you’d be willing. I know you’re probably busy.”

Remus raised his eyebrows at the rambling boy, unsure of what to really make of the situation before finally deciding on the next, most obvious question,

“Why haven’t you asked James? You’re friends with him and he seems to whiz through class no problem.”

“James is always really busy, y’know, with rugby practice and what not. Sirius too, but honestly I wouldn't ask him anyway… Don’t think he much cares for me.” It was Peter’s turn to now look sad. Remus always assumed James kept the boy around as a bit of a mascot, and it seemingly was true by Peter’s sullen talk of him. Maybe he didn’t really have any friends, much like himself.

“I see.” Remus noted, accepting his fate for what it was, “Well if that's the case, how about you meet me in the library tonight after classes? I really can’t expect to be much help, but I need to study anyway, so we can work some of the questions out together.”

Peter quickly agreed with a loud smile which Remus offered back, before he went bouncing out of the dining hall, sputtering out his thanks along the way.

Certainly he could be a bit annoying, but it was possible that Peter wasn’t so bad, it just seemed like he needed a real friend who could give a bit of guidance and appraisal here and there. Remus thought he could offer at least that much.

\--

Gliding across the nearly empty library in search for an open table, Remus tried to keep an uplifted mood for his study-session with Peter. He was tired and all he wanted to do was run back to his dorm and throw on a quiet record, falling asleep to gentle guitar strumming and melodies (not that he could with Evan eventually having to show back up). Instead, he sat down at an unclaimed table and awaited Peter’s arrival as he began unpacking notepads, books and pencils. 

He didn’t wait for long thankfully, Peter scrambling towards him with pink cheeks like he had just finished a long run,

“Sorry, got a bit behind on time,” The smaller boy plopped himself next to Remus, “Couldn’t get away from the others.” 

“You’re well fine, I only just got here a few minutes ago. Keeping you busy with their next attack plan on our schoolmates?” Remus lightly joked, opening his textbooks across the table. Peter offered a small laugh back,

“No, no. They can’t pull anything too wild like that again, they’ve been threatened to get kicked off the team if they did. Guess the Headmaster's talking of moving one of them to a different room, say’s they’re causing too much trouble being together so much.” Peter shrugged and gave a bigger smile, “Would be grand if I could room with James though, my dorm mate is well odd, y’know?”

“That Snape fellow, right?” Remus asked with a raised brow. He had a few classes with Severus Snape and found him to be rather odd too, as well as intimidatingly smart, always getting answers right and top scores. They’ve never really spoken, but Remus felt like the boy didn’t really like people in general so he kept his respective distance.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s right awkward since him, James and Sirius don’t really see… Eye to eye.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed how they don’t seem to get along. Why is that, anyway?” Remus didn’t know why he was even trying to dig information out of Peter about the two pranksters, but there was a part of him that was terribly curious about them that he’d admit to no one but himself. Why did they take everything in life like it was a joke? Why do they constantly do things that they  _ have  _ to know will get them detentions? Why are they so loud and annoying, always distracting him in the few classes he shared with them?

“Well, Severus isn’t really the nicest bloke around. He’s been known to have some problems with people that aren’t… Like  _ him. _ If you know what I mean? And he isn’t afraid to share those feelings, especially to James, and Sirius has never been able to handle people saying nasty things about his best friend.”

“Oh.” Remus certainly wasn’t expecting something quiet as rational as Snape being openly prejudiced. “Well, that’s rather fair then, I suppose.”

“Yeah, I think so at least.” Peter gave a shrug, “Anyway, could we start now? I’m already feeling like I’m gonna collapse, so I’d like to get this over with as fast as we can.”

“I second that.” Remus laughed back, as he pulled his books closer to the two of them.

\--

Remus said goodbye to Peter at the end of their session, pleasantly surprised by how much he did enjoy talking to the other boy. They honestly didn’t get much studying done after the first thirty minutes, going on tangents about music, school life and (begrudgingly)  _ girls.  _ It wasn’t that Remus didn’t like girls, he just didn’t really seem to feel the same way about them that all the others at school did. Ma says that he’s just a late bloomer and it’ll come in time. He wasn’t so sure himself though.

He collected his things and began to make his way out of the library, giving his goodnight to the librarian, Miss. Pince, who gave a happy reply right back. As soon as he walked out the door, a hand softly grabbed him by his shoulder, turning him to face Professor McGonagall,

“I thought I’d find you here Mr. Lupin,” she offered a smile, “I must ask you to come with me. Shouldn’t take up too much of your time.”

Remus' stomach dropped, mind immediately racing to figure out what it was he had done wrong. Was it his Maths scores? Did Evan find his record player and rat him out?

“Am I in trouble for something, ma’am?” He squeaked out.

“Nothing of the sort, dear. Just some minor changes that the Headmaster would like to talk over.”

“Oh. Right then.”

They walked to the Headmaster’s office in a tense silence, though that might have been mostly on Remus’ side of it. He felt like Headmaster Albus liked him well enough, always offering him a smile or hard candy when they crossed paths, but it didn’t make him any less frightening. It was like the man could look right through him, or even read his mind.

Professor McGonagall opened the office door, sliding to let Remus in first before she left, closing the door for him. The office was truly beautiful, original wood flooring and what seemed like billions of vintage and expensive knick knacks scattered all around. Remus had been in there a few times before, always seeing something he didn’t notice before. If his heart wasn’t pounding out of his chest, he would be more intrigued to study the shelves of books and decorations with more interest. But instead he made immediate eye contact with the man who it all belonged to,

“Hello, Remus, please take a seat. Lemon drop?” Dumbledore offered a small, crystal dish full of candies towards him.

“No thank you, sir. I prefer chocolates.” 

“We all certainly have our tastes.” He smiled, dropping one of the candies into his mouth, “More for me then, I suppose.”

Remus sat across from the Headmaster in a plush, cushioned chair that was funnily enough his favourite shade of green. He gave a small cough and folded his hands together on his lap,

“Professor McGonagall said I wasn’t in trouble.”

“Absolutely right, you’ve done nothing wrong. You continue to show much promise, Remus, and I hope to keep expecting the same.”

“That’s definitely my plan, sir.” It was Remus’ turn to give a smile, his nerves calming down some, the confidence to maintain eye contact finding him much more easily.

“The reason I’ve asked you here is due to your fellow dormmate, Evan Rosier. Unfortunately we’ve had to ask him to leave this institution due to some rather poor decisions on his part. I was wondering if you possibly knew anything of what I’m speaking of?”

Evan was gone? Relief rushed over Remus, it was like Christmas came early this year. 

“Oh, no, sir. I’m afraid we weren’t much of friends, he didn’t tell me much as to what he got up to.”

The Headmaster nodded, leaning back into his chair,

“I suspected as much. Well, due to his exit, we have assigned you a new dormmate, which wasn’t my initial plan. I was hoping to let you keep the room for yourself as it seems you enjoy your  _ personal  _ time.” A gleam ran across his eyes as Remus’ own grew wide.

_ ‘Oh, god, he knows about the damn record player.’ _

“But-” Dumbledore popped another lemon drop in his mouth, “I’m afraid we had to move another boy in. He’s an excellent student as well, but he finds himself often in the middle of  _ mischief,  _ and I thought that possibly being around such a well behaved boy as yourself, you may rub off a bit on him.”

Peter’s words ran through his head.  _ ‘Guess the Headmaster’s talking about moving one of them to a different room.’  _ This couldn’t happen. Not to him. He could not keep room with  _ James Potter  _ or  _ Sirius Black.  _ They’d be the death of him!

“I’m not sure that--”

“I’m terribly sorry but it’s already done, Remus. I do apologize if this is any upheaval on your day-to-day, but I’ve found in my own experiences,” He smiled that all-knowing-wise smile as he always does, “Unexpected changes lead to the most unlikely, and welcomed, new paths.”

Remus knew there was no getting out of it, and he hated feeling so stuck. He took a deep breath, shook his head and stood up.

“Yes, sir.”

\--

Remus stood outside his dorm’s door for a solid ten minutes since he arrived back from Headmaster’s office. He didn’t hear anyone inside, but he had no desire to go inside and see which one he had been stuck with, but it was late and he should’ve been asleep almost an hour ago. 

_ “You’re being pathetic. It’s your bloody room too! Just go in, say hello and then go to sleep!” _

He groaned to himself before finally pushing the door open, finding a new trunk wide open at the foot of what was once Evan’s bed and clothing seemingly thrown all over the left side of the room. While Remus wasn’t the neatest person alive, he hoped his wasn’t going to be the norm for he really did not think he could live like this. It was like--

“Oh, hello.” He knew from the voice right away who it was. A bizarre sense of relief came over him before he quickly dismissed whatever that could have possibly meant, and dread immediately replaced it. He looked up from the mess to the boy standing by the bathroom door, pinning an obscene magazine cut out of a practically naked woman on a motorbike on the wall.

Sirius Black. 

“Oh, um. Hi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics are from It'll Take A Long Time by Sandy Denny which is said in the first paragraph but whatevs ;^)


	3. I've Just Seen A Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really feeling the inspiration right now i guess, flying through these chapters. here's to hoping it sticks around!  
> thanks to everyone who bookmarked, left kudos and commented on the last chapter! i do really appreciate it!! :^) enjoy!

_I've just seen a face_

_I can't forget the time or place_

_Where we just met_

_She's just the girl for me_

_And I want all the world to see_

_We've met_

_Had it been another day_

_I might have looked the other way_

_And I'd have never been aware_

_But as it is I'll dream of her_

_Tonight_

“You must be Remus, then.” Sirius stuck out his hand towards Remus, a polite smile playing on his lips, “Nice meeting you.”

Remus couldn’t believe him. He looked down to Sirius Black’s outstretched hand, then back up to meet his eye once again,

“Meet?” He questioned, “We’ve gone to the same school since we were eleven. We have three classes together. Hell, we were even grouped together for an English project two years ago.” It was rare Remus could openly speak to someone with such attitude, but this was just taking the cake for him. How self absorbed could Sirius be to not recognize him _at all?_

“Ahh…” Sirius dropped his hand down slowly, along with his eyes, giving an uncomfortable laugh, “I see. Sorry ‘bout that. I don’t pay too much attention, I suppose.” Remus gave a sarcastic laugh in reply, quickly wanting to end the conversation and began making his way to the bathroom,

“I suppose not.” He paused in the doorway to turn back over to the onyx haired boy, “And you best not be planning to keep the room a disaster like this.” He slammed the door before Sirius could answer him. 

_‘How unbelievably dense could he be?’_ Remus thought to himself as he turned on the shower. Maybe he had been a tad bit too rude, but Sirius _truly_ got under his skin. James was an annoyance, sure, but Black was just another level to Remus. A rich, playboy who thinks he’s so important he can’t even remember someone who he’s been in the same building as for five years now! He knew at least James knew his name, only from the one time he bumped into Remus in the hallway last year - _“Oh, sorry Remus. Didn’t see you there.”_ He had simply said, but hell, at least he knew who he was!

He groaned as he finally stepped inside the bath, hoping at least the heat would calm down how tense he was with anger. Was this anger he was feeling? Whatever it was, he needed it to pass and quickly. It was going to be a couple of weeks of adjustment.

\--

A week had passed since Sirius’ new, more personal, appearance in Remus’ life began and he was finding himself slightly surprised by a few things from the other boy.

  1. He seemed to immediately take Remus’ distaste of him gracefully and left him alone to the best of his ability given the circumstances.
  2. He left himself written note reminders all over his side of the room. _‘Rugby practice changed to Thursday at 5’_ tacked to the wall by his bed, or _‘Detention with Flick-prick Tuesday lunch’_ taped to his headboard and _‘Jesus Christ call Marlene tonight before she hunts you down like a rabid dog.’_ Remus assumed Marlene was Sirius’ girlfriend.
  3. He didn’t let James come into their room.
  4. When he thought Remus was asleep he would turn on his side table lamp and read fiction books. (Remus only knew this because he watched Sirius hide it away before going to sleep one night and curiously, Remus pulled it out the next morning after he had left. He found a slightly beaten copy of _War and Peace_ by Leo Tolstoy. He pretended not to be impressed.)



The best thing he got from these discoveries was knowing when Sirius would be out, which meant for the first time in his school life he could listen to several of his records for hours without being afraid Evan would burst in, in a bad mood and destroy some of the few honest joys Remus had in life in a fit of anger. He felt the most at ease he had in years, not even realizing how much anxiety he carried in his daily life until one of the main sources of it had gone.

It was Thursday that day, 5:30 pm and Sirius had left an hour before to get to practice early. Remus was enjoying himself with a snack he had pocketed at lunch, _Help!_ by the Beatles spinning faintly on the floor next him as he wrote on the new stationary his parents had sent him last week.

_‘Ma and Da,_

_Rooming with Sirius hasn’t been as bad as we all thought it was going to be so far. He keeps to himself and I keep to mine. He’s out a lot so I actually get to study in my room if I’d like, which I didn’t think was a luxury I was missing out on but god, I was wrong. Doing homework in my pajamas remains undefeated._

_Believe it or not, I have made a new friend who just happens to be Peter, that boy that follows James around like a puppy. He’s not much like them at all, and he has some good taste musically which is appreciated. I don’t think it’s much though, seeming who he spends most his time with and all, but it’s nice to have someone to talk to from time to time._

_Hope you’re both doing well, I miss you as always. I know I’m quite a bit away from Wales but maybe sometime you both can come visit the school on a weekend._

  * _Remus’_



He’d send it out tomorrow morning before breakfast he decided, feeling much too lazy to remove himself from his bed at the moment, as he folded the letter into thirds with crisp edges, putting the it onto his nightstand, and sunk deeper into his bed. He smiled to himself, and the silly pop song John Lennon was singing about some girl, thinking about how nice the evening was going so far. He had an hour before he had to get dressed for dinner, although he thought about skipping not rather worried at that moment about being a bit hungry even after his snack, and he could just daydream himself away.

The record ended and he crouched over the edge of his bed to flip it back to the A-side, carefully placing the needle down to listen to it again. He really did love The Beatles. He remembered watching the telly with his mother in 1970 when he was ten years old, every channel it seemed casting on the bands break-up and they cried together not believing it was actually happening. The greatest band in the world wouldn’t make another song, album, nothing. Lyall sat down between them on the couch and slung an arm around them both, finding their reactions to be a bit silly but choosing to comfort them nonetheless, and Remus melted into him, tears streaming freely.

It is a bit silly when he thinks back to it now, yes they were a part of his entire childhood but it wasn't the end of the world (or music) like he felt it was then. The next following year George Harrison (his favourite of the bunch, who he identified with heavily) was the first Beatle to release a solo album titled _All Things Must Pass_ . Hope immediately bought two copies, sending one of them to Remus who had just started his first year at St. Godric’s two months beforehand. The second he received the package he ran to his dorm, pulled out his record player and put it on. He only got to the fourth song, ironically called _Isn’t It A Pity,_ before Evan stormed into the room in a horrid mood and demolished the disk and his record player.

Remus was devastated, but knew there was nothing he could do since he wasn’t supposed to have it in the first place. When he told his parents, they made a surprise visit the next week with a new record player and copy of the album in hand. At the time he didn’t understand that they really didn’t have the money to be wasting on unnecessary things like that, but as he grew older and time’s got rougher for his family it only made him appreciate it, and them, more. He had his little bit of home back with his music, and learned to keep it all well hidden since then.

_Fallin', yes, I am fallin'_

_And she keeps callin'_

_Me back again_

\--

After thoroughly considering his options, otherwise known as knowing he didn’t want to go to sleep with a growling stomach, Remus decided dinner was worth escaping the cocoon of his bed. He quickly got dressed and made his way to the dining hall, his current re-read _The Outsiders_ in hand. His mother gave him her copy when for his thirteenth saying _“I wish I had something like this to read when I was a teenager, I think I would’ve felt a little less alone.”_ When he finished it for the first time, he immediately knew what she had meant.

As usual, Remus made himself a decently sized plate of food and found an empty area at one of the overly-long dinner tables in the hall. His eating habits were religious at this point, always devouring half of everything as quickly as possible, then pulling out whatever book he was reading at that point only to pick at the rest of his meal before eventually dinner ended and he retired back to his dorm. That was exactly what he intended to do at that moment, but right as he took his seat he heard a yelp from across the room, 

“ _Remus!”_ It came from Peter who was making his way over to Remus, James and a rather stiff-looking Sirius in tow. Peter took a seat next to him, flashing a smile as the others sat from across them, “Thought we’d come sit with you since Sirius and you are dormmates now and all!” 

“Ugh, a shot through the heart. Thanks for reminding me that my brother in arms have been separated by McGonagalls pure lack of a sense of humor!” James exclaimed dramatically, wiping away a non-existent tear. Remus raised his brows, stealing a glance over to the other boys. James was giggling at his own little bit he had done, and Sirius looked… Well, like he shouldn’t be there. 

“Hey! At least I got to move into your room instead of someone else!” Peter spat back. Remus fought back a smile from the boys shenanigans, turning back to Peter,

“Well this is all very kind of you, but you really don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“But you always eat by yourself! I thought maybe-” Sirius, surprising Remus by hearing his voice for the first time in a couple days, cut Peter off before he could finish,

“I think he just wants to read his book, Peter.” His voice was somewhat emphatic, seemingly knowing that Remus likely wanted to be alone. James however chose to ignore Sirius’ obvious attempt at getting the group to bugger off, by asking,

“What’re ya reading anyway?” Plucking the book from Remus’ hands without a thought, “ _The Outsiders?_ Sounds right edgy, wassit about?” 

Remus oddly didn’t find himself too annoyed with the situation at hand that would’ve sent him over the edge not even a week ago, likely from the dream-like state he had spent his whole afternoon after classes in keeping him lulled. Instead of ripping his book back from James hands, he gave a small laugh,

“It’s about a greaser kid in the sixties who finds himself in a whole lot of trouble. I think maybe you lot would rather like it actually, some of the characters in it remind me of you all.”

Remus could see Sirius furrow his brows together in confusion at the statement out of his peripheral and grinned to himself. James laughed at Sirius’ face and Peter, then eventually Remus, joined in as well.

“What’s so bloody funny, you freaks?” Sirius yelled, a perplexed look still prominent. This only made the boys start laughing even harder. “I didn’t even do anything!”

\--

After dinner was finished and the boys had all gone their separate ways to their dormitories, it only made sense for Sirius and Remus to walk together. It was the most at ease Remus had felt about the Black since he moved in, despite the fact that they still didn’t talk too much for the rest of the meal. Remus was finding himself wondering if he had been too rough on his assumptions of the boys after having such pleasant conversation with them all evening, talking about comics, movies ( _“I dunno, I think Barbra Streisand is fit…” “Christ, Peter, only you would think that.”) ,_ jokes about professors and he learned that James is completely in love with a girl named Lily Evans _('She's a feisty little lady, but I'll be damned if I don't win her over one day.')._

They kept their silence the whole walk back right until Remus closed the door behind Sirius and him before the other spun around to face him,

“So do you not like me or what?” He didn’t sound angry, just upset and confused once again. Remus took a small step back in surprise and sputtered out a small,

“Wha-?”

“I mean you were a right prick when I first moved in, over an _honest_ mistake! Don’t speak to me for a whole week unless I said something you _had_ to reply to and so I left you alone like I assume you wanted to be, and now what? My friends take pity on you because you seem ‘ _lonely’_ and now all the sudden you’re our buddy?” Sirius groaned, frustrated, “What’s your problem?”

Well if he wasn’t already starting to feel bad for how he had James and Sirius painted for all these years, the guilt was creeping in significantly faster now from Sirius’ outburst. Remus curled a bit into himself, uncomfortable with the confrontation but he knew he couldn't escape it. He knew especially that he owed an apology.

“Um… I’m sorry. Really, I just thought you guys were much different than what you’re turning out to be. I thought you’d be trouble, and I didn’t wanna get involved in any of it so I just kinda pushed you away as fast as possible.” He scraped enough courage together to look Sirius in the eye, who’s face had softened some, “I mean it though, I’m really sorry. I was a prick, you’re right.”

Sirius quietly stared at Remus for a few moments before accepting the answer, shrugging and turning back again, walking to his side of the room, “Alright, I believe you mean it.” He began unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, opening his wardrobe to grab his nightwear, “Just don’t pull any of that better-than-you attitude shit with James or I’ll… I dunno, shank you with sharpened plastic ware or something.”

_‘Shank me? Jesus, he watches too much TV.”_

“Gotcha, James is off limits. What about Peter?”

Sirius laughed, dropping his shirt to the ground, “Between you and me, I think he deserves a good verbal ass-kicking. Knock yourself out.” He kicked his trousers off as well, replacing them with flannel pajama bottoms, “I’m going to sleep now, practice really wore me out today.”

“Oh, right, I’m sure.” Remus mumbled back, sitting on his bed still fully clothed, feeling the weird sensation of his neck and cheeks getting hot.

“Night, Remus.” 

He hadn’t put on a pajama top as he climbed into bed and turned off his lamp.

“Night, Sirius.” Remus whispered back, turning his own lamp off happily letting the darkness consume the room.

He pretended not to notice how his stomach felt like it was full of butterflies.

\--

“By the way, Remus?”

“Yeah?”

“James and I _are_ trouble, despite what your new views on us might be.”

There were a couple of laughs,

“Yeah, I know.”

_I have never known_

_The like of this, I've been alone_

_And I have missed things_

_And kept out of sight_

_But other girls were never quite_

_Like this,_

_Fallin', yes, I am fallin'_

_And she keeps ca_ llin'

_Me back again_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a FEW things:  
> 1\. remus does have COPD in this fic just bc well,,, if he's not gonna be a werewolf somethings gotta be wrong w him HOWEVER it's not a high point of the story so it's not something that i'll be heavily touching on until later chapters  
> 2\. i'm sorry if all the music tangents are uninteresting, i just wanted remus to be interested in something that i knew a lot about so it would seem more authentic and less "i read about this on google for an hour so heres to hoping its right"  
> 3\. remus loves stationary fight me on it  
> 4\. idk why he isn't allowed to have a record player either?? i just wanted him to have his one "naughty" thing and that was it i have no idea if you were allowed music equipment in boarding schools in the 70s  
> 5\. barbra streisand was so fucking beautiful in the 70s (still is) and james (who was who replied to peter) is dumb
> 
> the end on the notes.  
> thanks again!  
> (song obviously is I've Just Seen A Face by The Beatles)


	4. Wild Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a bit longer than my usual update timing, I lost my job due to coronavirus and everythings been kinda insane right now. Hoping now that I'm self quarantined I'll be able to get more writing done at least lmao.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

_ Wild thing, you make my heart sing _

_ You make everything groovy, wild thing _

_ Wild thing, I think you move me _

_ But I wanna know for sure _

_ Come on and hold me tight _

_ You move me _

  
  


“Halloween is coming pretty soon, you sure you don’t want us to bring you a costume for the party, son?” Remus was on the phone with his father in the front office, they’d been trying to find a schedule that worked for them both to call for a few weeks since his father had recently gotten a new job. It was another factory job, but Lyall said it paid more than his last and that was the most they could all hope for nowadays. 

“No, Da, I’m alright. Most of us don’t really dress up too much anyway, it’s mostly the younger kids.” Remus replied, smiling even though his father couldn’t see. It had been too long since he heard Lyall’s voice (Hope regularly called since she didn’t work at the moment) and it felt the closest thing to home he had since getting back to school. “I’m not so sure I’ll even go to the party this year. Always too many people, I get right freaked out sometimes.”

“Probably just nervous ‘cos of all the pretty lasses that come about for it.” Lyall laughed, “It’s time you started talking to girls properly son, you’ll never get one on your side if you don’t take your few chances you have outta the year to learn to talk to them after all!”

Remus goaned silently, another reminder that all the girls from St. Rowena will be coming to their school for the Halloween dance. Less than a month after, the boys all go to their school for the Christmas dance, and Sirius, James and Peter haven’t shut up about it since the first day of October. James especially ranted on and on because his  _ ‘beloved Lily Evans’  _ would be arriving as well, and he was determined to win her over this year. It really wasn’t that Remus hated girls, he didn’t seem to have a taste for them quite yet. Other things seem to catch his eye, but he didn’t worry himself with those thoughts yet.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. I dunno, I just would rather be home with you and Ma, helping bake and whatnot.”

“Well don’t worry your head off, that’s what Christmas break is for, love!”

Remus sighed and leaned against the wall he was standing by, “Yeah, I know, Da.” He was starting to feel rather pathetic, a sixteen-year old boy who would rather be with his parents than his few friends he’d still somewhat recently acquired at a party. Sure, just a  _ school  _ party, but still a bloody party.

“Oh son, c’mon worry so much, you’ll be home well soon and--” Remus could hear Hope yell something in the background interrupting his father, “Ah, well, sorry Remus I’m afraid I have to cut our chat a bit short, your mother seems to needs a hand in the garden.”

“Alright, well, we’ll talk soon. Love you, tell Ma the same for me.”

“Of course, and we love you too. Keep your chin up.”

\---

Remus awoke to a knock on the door and Sirius scrambling to open it quickly, and loudly engulfing James in a bear hug,

“Today’s the day! This morning, we are but boys.” James grinned and made his way next to Remus’ bed, bending down to meet his eye, “But tonight, we become  _ men. _ ”

“Speak for yourself, mate. Unlike you, I’ve actually gotten in bed with birds.” Sirius replied with a wicked grin on his face, “But I know you’ve been saving yourself for  _ sweet, darling Evans. _ ” James shot a bitter glare and went over to give his friend a whack on his arm,

“I have not been  _ saving  _ myself you arse! I simply do not desire any other women, unlike you and your  _ achievements.”  _ James plopped himself onto Sirius’ bed, “I mean at least I’ve kissed a girl, she let me put a hand up her shirt too!”

Ouch. 

Remus was sure James didn’t mean any harm towards him, but couldn’t help but feel a small sting from hearing that, seeming he had  _ just  _ admitted a couple days ago to the boys that he hadn’t even kissed anyone yet. Remus finally pulled himself up from bed and began running his fingers through his tangled, bed head as an excuse to not make eye contact with either of the others. Sirius must’ve picked up on it as he gave James a small kick to his shin and motioned to Remus in hopes he’d get the picture.

“Oh, sorry mate. I didn’t mean it as a jab or anything.” James said sympathetically. “Besides, it only just happened over the summer, God knows I’m not catching girls like flies.” He gave an uncomfortable laugh and Remus shrugged, finally looking up to James,

“It’s fine, we can’t all be aristocratic, champions of women like Sirius over here.” He gave a somewhat honest laugh, and the other boys joined in with him. “Not like I really have many choices at home anyway, our house is a bit outta nowhere. Our closest neighbor is Mr. and Mrs. Haddin’s and that's a good 20 minute walk away.”

“Ah, Wales.” James sighed happily, “The greenery, the nature, the--”

“Bloody constant rain.” Remus cut him off, still smiling with another laugh.

“Mate, have you ever even been to Wales?” Sirius asked.

“Technically  _ no  _ but-” He was cut off by another round of laughter before he could continue.

\---

Watching Sirius get ready for the dance was incredibly similar to watching his mother get ready for a night out with his father, Remus found. Sure, there was a lack of makeup, but Sirius seemed to take ages on his hair and he couldn’t figure out why. It looked just like it always did after all, slightly wavy and reaching just to his chin making him look like a real bad-boy with his regal face structure and nonchalant attitude towards the world. All Remus had done was take a shower as a chance to further detangle his hair, shave what little bit of wispy facial hair he was beginning to grow and put on some clothing that wasn’t his school uniform.

“So you’re sticking to the sweater vest then, mate?” Sirius asked as he looked out to Remus from the bathroom, a hit of humor to his voice.

“Uh-” Remus looked down at his apparel. White button up underneath an olive green, patterned sweater vest his mother had gotten him as a birthday present tucked into black slacks and his only pair of oxford’s that he wore everyday. He thought he looked fine. “Yeah, why?” Sirius chuckled and shook his head slightly, returning his eyes back to the mirror as he did a few last fluffs to his hair before finally retiring the bathroom,

“Nothing.”

“No, tell me!”

“It’s just,” Sirius shrugged, looking Remus in the eye with a small smile. Remus liked his smile, “Y’know you’ve got this great, kinda rockstar hair and you just really play it down dressing like a damn Brady.” Remus could feel his neck start to heat up and he quickly pushed his hair forward to cover his blush,

“You like my hair?”

“Oh yeah! I’m well jealous of it, actually. If you let it grow longer it’d look like Robert Plant!”

“I’ve seen pictures of Robert Plant wearing a sweater vest, y’know.”

Sirius gave a fake gasp, “Don’t you  _ ever  _ accuse that man of wearing such treachery! He is a bloody Golden Rock God!” 

“Actually now that I think about it, I think Jimmy Page wears them--”

“For the love of all that is Holy, don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

Remus giggled as Sirius walked over to his wardrobe, promptly choosing to ignore the truth that had been brought forth upon him. What’s wrong with sweater vests anyway? Remus thought he looked proper dapper for the evening, not even feeling too worried about being surrounded by all the Rowena girls tonight. He figured he would just stay close to Sirius, James and Peter then everything would be fine.

“Where is James by the way?” Remus checked his watch, almost six thirty, “Isn’t he meeting up with us here--?” 

_ ‘Oh good god.’ _

Sirius in leather. A leather jacket that made him look very,  _ very  _ James Dean. Remus rather liked James Dean. Remus liked James Dean  _ a lot.  _ Two summers before, Hope eventually had to refuse to take Remus into town just to see  _ Rebel Without A Cause  _ that they were only showing as it had been the 20th anniversary of the actor's unfortunate death. He managed to convince his Da to take him one last time for the last night they were screening it, and much to his dismay, Lyall came in and watched it with him. It wasn’t that Remus didn’t want to spend time with him, it was that when James Dean came on screen, he felt a lot like the older ladies in the theatre who would sigh happily at the sight of his cool smile and suave body language.

“Oi! I know I look good, but you don’t need to stare, mate” 

That brought Remus back to reality, hastily bowing his head down hoping that his fringe would hide the flush he could feel across his cheeks. “Sorry, it’s a nice jacket. I’ve always wanted one.” He just barely mumbled back, trying to keep his voice steady. Not exactly the truth, but not a lie. Remus didn’t think he could pull off leather, at least not as well as Sirius could, so he chose the much more widely available and less expensive denim.

“Do you wanna try it on?”

_ ‘God yes.’ _

“Uh, I don’t think it’ll fit me.” Remus could not handle this for some reason. It seemed almost sinful to even think about, and the fact Remus was starting to question God’s existence wasn’t enough reason to give into it.

“So what? It can help give you an idea as to what you like for when you eventually get one yourself!” Sirius was already shrugging the jacket off and handing it to Remus. He looked up to Sirius and instantly found he couldn’t say no, not when he had that look on his face. Like he  _ knew.  _ What did he know though? There was nothing to know.

Remus pushed off his bed and quickly put the jacket on, trying to avoid Sirius’ stare. He turned to his wardrobe and glanced into the body length mirror. He was right, it was a bit too big in the shoulders, but what was surprising is how much he liked how he looked in it, something that he rarely ever felt when looking at his reflection. With his hair, and his scar that ran along the side of his face, he almost looked-

“Cool!” Sirius clapped his hand onto his shoulder and gave him a smile in the mirror, “You look good! Well, despite the damn sweater vest. Really, I don’t mean to be a prick but you should really burn that thing.” Remus didn’t take offence, he just gave a small laugh and continued to admire himself,

“Not a chance in hell, Black.”

\--

The dance was just as torturous as he remembered. His plans of sticking with the boys quickly went downhill the second James laid eyes on the infamous Lily Evans. She was certainly very pretty, like James had described, with her fiery red hair, even pale complexion and a really lovely dress that reminded Remus of something his mother would wear. It was a baby blue, linen flowy sort of dress that would’ve been very in style during Remus’ youth. Maybe it was her mother’s from the sixties?

Sirius had stuck around longer but that was quickly ruined by a girl angrily yelling his name from a few feet behind them, and judging by the  _ oh fuck  _ look on his face, Remus deduced that must be Marlene.  _ ‘Must’ve never called her.’  _ He thought as she dragged his friend away by his arm to the hallway, their bickering tuned out by the pop music that was playing over the speakers. That left Peter and him.

“Do you like these things, Pete?” Remus asked, genuinely curious. He figured Peter couldn’t be having any more fun than he was, sitting at the table, drinking virgin-cocktails and fiddling with the tablecloth’s hem.

“They’re alright.” Peter gave a shrug, examining the room before them, “Food’s always good and the girls are fit.” Remus rolled his eyes, always with the damn  _ birds-this  _ and  _ girls-that.  _ He was a hormonal teenager just like the rest of them, but he was getting sick of hearing about bloody women! Sighing, he also brought his eyes back to all the dancing students, deciding he might as well use this as his chance to people-watch as he so often enjoyed doing. 

One couple were dancing rather close, hands everywhere, until a teacher came up and put a stop to it. But the second trouble was gone, they both laughed and went right back to as they were before. He spotted Frank and his girlfriend having a laugh by the punchbowl, which made Remus smile. He knew how smitten he was with Alice, even without ever having any personal chats. Just the way he would say  _ ‘my girlfriend’  _ was all it took to know he was head over heels. Always made him feel a bit jealous, but looking at them now he felt nothing but happy for them. It couldn’t be easy only getting to see your significant other a few times out of the year, afterall. And then there was James, marching towards their table, dragging a rather annoyed looking Lily Evans with him,

“Boys! This is my future wife! I’m so happy you get to meet her, Remus! Isn’t she a dream like I said?” 

“Potter if you don’t let me go, I’m going to beat the life out of you!” Lily was red in the face, but definitely not for the reasons Remus was earlier in his dorm. She truly looked ready to kill,

“Trust me, she loves me! Don’t you darling- OW!” James covered his cheek with his hand, “She bloody slapped me!” Remus watched Lily stomp away and raised a brow to his friend who looked actually dumbfounded as to why it happened,

“You do know you can’t force a girl to fall in love with you, don’t you?” James grumbled as he dropped himself onto the chair next to Remus,

“What do you even know about girls, Remus?”

Remus frowned at the sneer, he knew James was just upset. It’s not like he could really say anything anyway. What did he know?

\--

Once James had regained his confidence and went to seek out Lily once again, Remus decided he had had enough pubescent drama for one night and resigned back to his room. Sirius wasn’t back, which came as no surprise, so he got dressed into his nightwear and quickly curled into his bedsheets the fastest he could, grabbing his own copy of  _ War and Peace  _ up from his side table (he enjoyed the look of suspicion on Sirius’ face when he saw it the other day) and fell into the words of Leo Tolstoy. That lasted for about maybe four minutes before the door slammed open and an irritated Sirius slapped it shut once he was in,

“I’m so damn sick of women!” He certainly didn’t seem to care that he was obviously interrupting Remus’ well known nighttime routine, “They just want so much damn attention! I mean, Jesus, we go to different schools what could she possibly want me to do about that?” Sirius groaned, slipping off his jacket leaving it discarded on the floor, and sat on his bed. He began taking off his boots as he looked up to Remus, confusion on his face, “What’re you doing back here so early? It’s not even nine.”

Remus turned his body to lay facing Sirius, giving a shrug and started playing with the ends of his hair, “Peter isn’t that much fun to hang out with one-on-one, y’know?” Sirius sighed, pulling off his shoes, following with his shirt. Remus looked away.

“Sorry for leaving you hanging. Marlene just-” He sighed again, rubbing his face with his hands roughly, “She always does this. Always ruins the little bit of fun we get to have here every year.”

“Did you guys break up?” He hoped so, seeing Sirius this distraught. 

“Yeah, and come Christmas she’ll beg to get back together, I’ll go on holiday with her family or some shit and everything will be fine until the cycle repeats.” Sirius didn’t bother with his trousers and laid back onto his bed, also facing Remus, “I’m just getting sick of it.”

“Well then don’t get back together with her this time. If you don’t like someone, you shouldn’t be with them.” Remus dared to look back at his friend, he looked actually a bit sad. It didn’t suit him.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just annoying, because we usually get on pretty well when all hell isn’t breaking loose because I forgot to call or whatever.”

“Maybe you could just be friends then?” That earned Remus a bewildered look,

“Just friends? With a girl?” Sirius laughed, running his hand through his hair pushing it out of his face, “You really don’t know women do you?” Remus found himself pushing up onto his elbows, suddenly not afraid to make eye contact,

“You don’t have to keep bloody pointing it out, y’know. I’m getting sick of you and James giving me gripe just because I don’t have a damn girlfriend!” Sirius looked surprised from the outburst, which was fair since he hadn’t heard Remus raise his voice since the day he moved room. The dark haired boy got up from bed and made his way over to Remus, sitting down of the edge of his bed,

“I’m sorry. Really, we’re a couple of daft crackpots.” Sirius smiled at him and Remus couldn’t help but break a smile back and chuckle in agreement, “So how about I never comment on that subject again, and you pull out the record player you’ve been hiding underneath your bed and we have our own little dance party?”

Remus couldn’t even be mad that Sirius had snooped around his side of the room because the idea sounded  _ brilliant.  _

  
  


_ Wild thing, you make my heart sing _

_ You make everything groovy, wild thing _

_ Wild thing, I think I love you _

_ But I wanna know for sure _

_ Come on and hold me tight _

_ I love you _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wild Thing is by The Troggs (a real bop if you havent heard it before)  
> the reference to "dressing like a Brady" was as in the Brady Bunch.
> 
> Also,,,, when I tagged this slow burn,,,,,,,,,,,,, i hope you know i meant SLOWWWWWWWWW burn ah ha ha


End file.
